4-H

Natural Resource

Club

Soil & Water Conservation

Soil & Water Conservation

Prepared by Natalie Carroll, Professor, and Tyler Wilson, Graduate Student, Department of Youth Development and Agricultural Education, Purdue University. Copyright © Purdue University, 2013.

Note: the Indiana 4-H Soil and Water Conservation curriculum is currently being revised. The new curriculum will be pilot-tested in 2014 and used state-wide in 2015. The activities chosen for the Natural Resource Science kit are from the previous manuals and will be used in the new curriculum.

The new manuals will contain both activities from the current manuals and new activities. Currently, there are four manuals in the curriculum. The new curriculum will consist of three manuals (upper elementary, middle school and high school). The Level 1 manual introduces basic soil and water concepts, including soil profiles, textures, and color. It also introduces erosion, the water cycle, and watersheds. Levels 2&3 introduce more complex topics and interactions.

qIndiana’s Water Riches (4-H 882, for upper elemen-tary students) newsletters: Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5.

qInsects as Bioindicators of Water Quality: www.four-h.purdue.edu/Natural_resources/Resources/BioindicatorWQ/

qProper Disposal of Unwanted Medicines: http://web.extension.illinois.edu/unusedmeds/

qIDNR Water Webpage: www.in.gov/dnr/water/

qIDNR Education Programs (including Project Wet and Hoosier Riverwatch), http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/7543.htm

4-H/FFA Soils Career Development Event Youth who like to compete with others might enjoy

participating in the 4-H/FFA Soils Career Development Event (CDE). The Soils CDE teaches youth to recognize important soil and landscape properties and to consid-er these properties in deciding how to use soils without harming them. Youth will learn about soil physical prop-erties and corresponding best use management practices for farmland use and/or home site development.

Teams compete in their Area CDE by judging four soil pits (two focusing on agriculture and two focus on onsite wastewater disposal). Winning teams may advance to the Indiana Soils CDE, generally held the 4th Saturday in Oc-tober. Contact your county Extension Educator for the date of your Area contest.

Information to prepare a team is available in Under-standing the Indiana Soils CDE (ID-72 or www.agry.pur-due.edu/soils_judging/new_manual/index.html). Gener-al information about the 4-H/FFA CDEs is available at: www.four-h.purdue.edu/cde/.

Indiana 4-H Soil & Water Conservation manuals(Order from Purdue’s The Education Store:www.the-education-store.com)

qLevel A, Grades 3&4, 4-H-795qLevel B, Grades 5&6, 4-H-796qLevel C, Grades 7-9, 4-H-797qLevel D, Grades 10-12, 4-H-798qLeader’s Guide, 4-H-830

Invited Speaker SuggestionsA variety of people in your county may be able to talk

to youth about soil health, erosion, and water (quality and quantity).

qLocal Soil and Water Conservation District employ-ee, http://iaswcd.org/contact-districts.html

qFFA advisor who competes in the Soils Career De-velopment Event

qLocal Master Gardener, ask for a recommendation from your Extension Office

qCounty Ag & Natural Resources Extension Educa-tor to talk about soil health

qLocal Farmer to talk about the importance of soil health

ResourcesqIndiana 4-H Soil & Water Webpage: www.four-h.

purdue.edu/natural_resources/, click on Soil & Wa-ter Conservation

qNRCS Web Soil Survey, http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm

qIndiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, http://iaswcd.org/

ActivitiesThe following activities were selected from the Indiana 4-H Soil and Water Conservation Level A manual to intro-

duce environmental conservation to your 4-H Natural Resources club. The “Dig Deeper” activities and questions are recommended for these activities.

Pages Activity Objectives Materials Needed Time(min.)

Water Erosion in a Box

18-20Youth learn how runoff can erode soil. The “Dig Deeper” activities help youth understand how covering the soil can reduce erosion and is highly recommended.* An introduc-tion to erosion and terms is given on pages 18 & 19.

Box of soil, soil, jar, sprinkling can, quart jar, old book 30

Splash Erosion

21 Youth how rainfall can dislodge soil particles. The “Dig Deeper” activities help youth understand how covering the soil can reduce erosion and is highly recommended.*

Box of soil, small tin can, card-board, compass, nail, hammer, ladder

20-30

Wind Erosion22 Youth learn how wind can dislodge soil. The “Dig Deep-

er” activities help youth understand how covering the soil can reduce erosion and is highly recommended.*

Box of soil, electric fan, adhe-sive tape, large cardboard box, scissors

20-30

Phases in a Glass28, 29 Youth read about water properties and observe the three

phases of water. The Dig Deeper activity is recommended. 2 glasses, ice, water, thermome-ters, copies of page 29 for teams of youth

30

Water Striders & Sewing Needles30 Youth learn about the surface tension. The Dig Deeper

activity is recommended.Bowl, water, sewing needle, fork 15-20

Rescue an Ice Cube31 Youth investigate how salt effects freezing water. Ice, string, glass, water, table

salt15-20

*Use the Scientific Method, if possible: ask 4-H members to state the problem (erosion causes the loss of valuable soil and contaminates surface waters); form a hypothesis (covering the soil will reduce erosion), set up experiments and collect data; interpret the data; and draw conclusions.

Facilitator’s Guide Water Erosion in a Box Erosion is the wearing away of the land surface by rain or irrigation water, wind, ice or other agents that abrade, detach and remove soil from one point on the earth's surface and deposit it elsewhere. This is often referred to as runoff. In the U.S., the cost of water and wind erosion each year is estimated in billions of dollars, because of the loss of the upper soil layer causing reduced productivity and soil pollution of water and air. Soil erosion is a global problem. Erosion of soil can contribute to instability in a region because of inability to produce adequate food and fiber. The factors that contribute to soil erosion are climate, soil properties (aggregation & soil moisture), soil cover, land management and topography (slope). Steeper slopes cause faster water movement and the increased velocity washes away more soil. Longer slopes have a greater the impact on erosion than shorter slopes. There are some benefits to soil movement. Soil nourishes floodplains, creates deltas and islands, and replenishes wetlands. In a more natural system, soil movement would be on a more sustainable scale, and the loss of productive soils would not be an issue. However, many people are concerned that world urbanization, agricultural methods, and other modern-day impacts on soil have tipped the balance significantly. The concerns of soil movement include:

• Loss of excessive amounts of fertile soil • Decreases the depth of streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs • This can increase water temperature, effecting aquatic species • Requires increased water purification

Splash Erosion Splash erosion occurs when the impact of a falling raindrop creates a small crater in the soil that dislodges soil particles. Soil particles may travel can be as much as two feet vertically and five feet horizontally on level ground. Once the rate of rainfall is faster than the rate of infiltration into the soil, surface runoff occurs and carries the loosened soil particles down the slope. Wind Erosion Wind erosion occurs when soil particles start to move because of wind forces reach about 13 miles per hour or more. Soil-blowing usually starts on exposed hilltops, in tracks or paths made by tractors or animals and in corners or turn rows where excessive turning and cultivation have pulverized the surface soils. Wind erosion is most common on sandy soils and muck soils. Sandy and muck soils are more easily windblown than the silts and clays. The larger pore space around the larger sand particles allow them to be dislodged easier. The smaller pore space of silts and clays help hold the particle together, especially if they are wet or moist. Phases in a Glass Water Striders & Sewing Needles Rescue and Ice Cube

Many items exist in one of three phases: solid, liquid, or gas. At normal temperatures, concrete is solid, gasoline is liquid, and helium to fill up balloons is gas. These can exist in other phases at different temperatures. Water exists in all three phases on our planet and is very important in driving the weather. The atmosphere is a good place to think about the three phases of water. Snow is solid water, rain is liquid water, and invisible water vapor is gas. Surface tension is the skin-like property of a liquid surface. Surface tension lets bugs and leaves float on top of ponds and makes water dripping from a faucet form round little drops instead of having a more stringy shape as they fall to the sink. Surface tension results from forces between molecules that make water shrink down to the smallest surface area possible. Another property is water’s melting point, the temperature at which water changes from a solid (ice) to a liquid. Pure water freezes at 32°F (0° Celsius). When a mineral such as salt is added to water it lowers the freezing point.

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Additional Information: Phases of Water • Boil – to change from a liquid to a gas.

o At sea level, water boils at 100°C (212°F). o Water boils at lower temperatures in higher elevations.

• Condense – to change from a gas to a liquid. • Density – the amount of matter in a certain space.

o Density is usually measured in grams per milliliter (g/mL). • Freeze – to change from a liquid to a solid.

o Water freezes at 0°C (32°F). • Gas – a phase in which matter has no definite shape or volume.

o A gas will expand to fill any container. A gas can also be compressed. o Molecules in a gas are relatively far apart and move freely. o Water in the gas phase is called water vapor.

• Liquid – a phase in which matter has definite volume but no definite shape. o A liquid will take the shape of a container but cannot expand or be compressed. o Molecules in a liquid are close together and move freely.

• Melt – to change from a solid to a liquid. o Ice melts at 0°C (32°F).

• Molecule – a particle made of two or more atoms. o A water molecule (H2O) is made of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms.

• Phase – a state of matter with certain physical properties. o Solid, liquid, and gas phases occur naturally on Earth. o Plasma is a phase found in stars. Other phases have been produced in the lab.

• Solid – a phase in which matter has a definite shape and a definite volume. o A solid will retain the same shape and volume in any container. o Atoms in a solid are held in a rigid structure and cannot move freely. o Water in the solid phase is called ice.

• Volume – the amount of space an object occupies.

Dec. 2013

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